Chloe Piparo to lead Western Fury in the upcoming season

Chloe Piparo will captain the Fury in their upcoming season of the Women’s National Cricket League following previous captain, Elyse Villani’s move to play for Victoria.



Piparo, a 23-year-old top-order batter, will take over the reins from a much more experienced player and Australian international, Villani, who announced earlier this year that she will be moving back home to Victoria after playing for the Fury for three years.



Debuting for her state-side aged just 17, Piparo has plenty of experience herself in the domestic 50-over competition, with five seasons already under her belt.



Last year was the Furys’ breakout year in the competition as they reached the finals’ for the first time in 18 years and finished as runners’-up to a star-studded NSW side. Piparo is keen to continue and build on that success in the 2018-2019 season.



Speaking to Cricket Australia, Piparo said, “I’m really proud and privileged to lead this team. To be considered leadership material is a real honour and something I won’t take for granted. This team is headed in the right direction on and off the field and to be able to drive that further is really exciting."



Seasoned international and Australian opener, Nicole Bolton will be supporting Piapro as her vice-captain, having previously led both the Fury and Perth Scorchers in the Rebel WBBL.



"Chloe’s a very talented young player and has been around the group for a long time," Fury coach, Lisa Keightely said.



"Her skills and leadership credentials have developed really well and has definitely been a leader in and around the group for a number of years. Chloe was an obvious choice for me. She lives and breathes our culture and values. Being able to bounce off someone like Nicole is great for Chloe, they work really well together and Nicole will be able to help her develop her leadership skills on and off the field."



"I thought last year was a breakthrough year for Chloe with her performances with the bat and I have no doubt she will continue that form leading into this season’s WNCL. She has great pride playing for WA and is popular around the group, and to be able to hand the captaincy to a young woman shows women’s cricket is in a healthy position in this state."



Fury will begin their WNCL campaign on September 21, when they meet Victoria at Perth’s Murdoch University.



The opening weekend of the WNCL matches will benefit the Australian players immensely, giving them the opportunity to spend some time in the middle as preparation for their upcoming three matches T2o series against New Zealand. The series begins on September 29 at North Sydney Oval.